Trial - Ross Harris #3

[just the facts pls]

There follows an exceptionally damaging series of exchanges between Harris and numerous women on Kik or Whisper. Boring introduces each and asks Stoddard how Harris responds. According to Stoddard:

Harris tells one he is addicted to sex. He tells another he "hates being married sometimes, too." He tells another he misses being single. He tells another that "my wife should divorce me." He tells another "sometimes I want to be unmarried." He tells another, on May 19, 2014, "Wish I was single." That was a month before Cooper's death. He tells another, on May 23, "I settled down. Kinda regret it." He tells another on May 28, "I'm a bit miserable, too . . . No sex (in my relationship). You?" He tells another, on March 14, "I'm tired of living with my wife sometimes, lol." He tells another in January 2014, "I miss being single. ... I just want to (expletive) a lot of girls, drink a lot and have fun." He tells another in February, "You don't need a baby. It's not easy, and expensive. . . . I love my son, but that joker drains my paycheck." He tells another, in February 2014, "I have sex with strangers to block out a lot of my pain. ... I like it with strangers." He tells another "I have a sex addiction I've acted on. I kind of regret that."
===========================================================================================================

I think this is incredibly damaging info for the defense. And I totally disagree that the State was amiss for trying to bring it out for the jury to see for themselves. Ross was very unhappy with his family life. And he was totally out of control, depressed, fatigued and frustrated on the day he 'forgot' his baby in the car.

I agree. Didn't Kilgore say JRH was wanting to "have his cake and eat it too"? This proves that this is not the case at all, especially when he's telling people to not have kids and that he's only married because Cooper was in the picture.

I'm also having an issue with JRH describing his lifestyle as a "sex addiction." I have no doubt that JRH has personal struggles and personal pain as anyone else, but if it were just sex then JRH would have been having sex with more than just barely legal teenagers. He would be having it with women his own age, maybe a few years younger or older as well. He specifically targeted very young women and from what I know (and I'm not an expert) that is not the same as "sex addiction," it's a paraphilia.

 

[pocketaccent]

What great dad? Maybe not a "great" dad, but a dad who loved to the best of his ability, a tired dad, depressed about not advancing at work, not finding intimacy in his marriage, maybe an immature man, and one who perhaps doesn't always use the perfect words to express how he feels, but who that day sitting at CFA was thinking, perhaps, of an argument he had the night before with Leanna about his going to a movie with friends, which was imo his focus in the whisper thing exchange, and who meant "break," not "escape," and who made it crystal clear, as he had for over a year, that Cooper wasn't the problem, his marriage was.

And as much as you know I greatly respect your opinion, on this one we may disagree, because imo, I find it reprehensible the depths the State has sunk to in this case to deny RH a fair trial, including lies, more lies, and relentless character assassination.

I think you are one of the most brilliant thinker, analyzer, and possibly a genius. Serious. I'm not being frivolous when I say these things about you, Hope4More.

Yep, we disagree on this case.

I got locked out of my car with my young son (Cooper's age) and my purse and keys still in my car once. I found out what I had done as soon as I slammed the door shut. I was in Hawaii on a very hot day. This was 1994 and even then I knew about the dangers of hot car. No cell phone yet. Panic..

I immediately went to the back door where my little boy was smiling and looking at me with a 'why aren't you getting me out' look. I needed him to pull up the lock knob but I knew his little arm couldn't reach it. I pantomimed the unlocking motion of unbuckling his car seat belt. He did. I pointed to the lock knob and pantomimed the pull up motion. He followed my directives. I couldn't open that door fast enough. By this time a crowd had gathered to witness the happy ending.

So yes, I'm aware accidents do happen, including forgetting your child until the child bakes to death. But if that happens, the person responsible for the death can no longer say it was just an accident IMO and walk away. I'm glad RH was put on trial.

(English is not my primary language. Please excuse grammatical errors)

 

[JerseyGirl]

Is there a link to any information about the selected jurors?

here's the thread: http://www.websleuths.com/forums/sh...ection-Tweets-News-amp-Discussion-(Brunswick)

 

[JerseyGirl]

Stoddard testimony and Greg Sanders from HD Security doesnt match up on some things. One especially being" RH did not bend down a bit"as Stoddard testified. Also the portion of the video where RH is walking back to the building at lunch. Where the person walks buy and RH appears on the phone. Sanders testified no RH did not turn his head, was either looking at phone or ground. LOL Stoddard, well he couldn't tell and said of the video "it is what it is" Boring in leading got him to say something else, and Def Objected but the Judge overruled. :facepalm: And the times in parking lot varies too.

at this point, is it really that important of a detail?

 

[justkk]

I agree.

And I think it is important to show how totally out of control he was. I don't think the jury would be upset if he was just having an affair or he was sexting a co-worker. But the totality of his situation was overwhelming. He was literally obsessed and addicted to this high risk sexual behavior. It was taking over his life---sexting until 3 am and starting up again at 5 am? That is just nuts.

I think it is vital for the State to show how messy and sloppy his addiction had become---sexting minors, hooking up with strangers in his own home, meeting a man while on vacation, scanning craigslist and back page, numerous random women from Whisper and Kik-----It ALL goes to paint a picture of a man who was going downhill fast.

If the jury is going to accept the possibility that he purposely killed his son, they have to be shown what was going on in his life during this time.

Totally agree. This was NOT just "a guy doing what guys do cause they aren't happy at home" as some posters are alluding to!

That being said - this "sexual addiction" information (he even called it that) alone does not show IMO that he did it on purpose. BUT added to the rest of the evidence shown - short time to the intersection where he needed to turn, how close in proximity Cooper was to him in the car (to name some of the most damning for me) and it is starting to really confirm my feelings on this.
If he had all the same stuff going on in the background (the sex addiction) but say he didn't normally take Cooper to daycare, the car seat were further away from RH own body, he had driven 30 minutes straight from home to work, etc... Then I don't think I'd be convinced he intended this. So my point is, I am not basing my feelings on this just on the "bad husband, bad father" stuff.

Still waiting to hear all the evidence of course


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[arkansasmimi]

Originally Posted by arkansasmimi View Post
Stoddard testimony and Greg Sanders from HD Security doesnt match up on some things. One especially being" RH did not bend down a bit"as Stoddard testified. Also the portion of the video where RH is walking back to the building at lunch. Where the person walks buy and RH appears on the phone. Sanders testified no RH did not turn his head, was either looking at phone or ground. LOL Stoddard, well he couldn't tell and said of the video "it is what it is" Boring in leading got him to say something else, and Def Objected but the Judge overruled. And the times in parking lot varies too.

at this point, is it really that important of a detail?

:thinking: JMHO... Let me see, Trial is still going on, the State has not even rested, the Defense has yet to put on their case. OH and Cross on Stoddard has not even began. Yes, it is important now as much as it was when the State called their witnesses to get this on the record.

But I guess if you don't think any of the testimony and evidence is important, it may not be. It's not tv where you just turn off the program.

 

[JerseyGirl]

:thinking: JMHO... Let me see, Trial is still going on, the State has not even rested, the Defense has yet to put on their case. OH and Cross on Stoddard has not even began. Yes, it is important now as much as it was when the State called their witnesses to get this on the record.

But I guess if you don't think any of the testimony and evidence is important, it may not be. It's not tv where you just turn off the program.

I didn't say that the testimony and evidence aren't important, it's just that you are nitpicking about inconsistencies that have very little importance.

 

[Hope4More]

finishing off the day...

"Let's start with the Whisper app. Were you able to verify that he used an application called Whisper on his phone?" Boring asked. Stoddard says yes, describing the Whisper app enables users to "put your secret thoughts out there."

He talks about the image on Harris's phone from a Whisper conversation that said the writer, identified as "Always in my feelings," hated being married. Early on, Stoddard says, investigators didn't know whether Harris wrote the message or simply downloaded it from someone else.

He explains that at length, investigators concluded that Harris didn't write the post but that he viewed it on the morning Cooper died.

Stoddard says another examination of the phone later on yielded much more data on the Whisper conversation and also on communication between Harris and his wife, Leanna.

Boring hands him a set of records of those communications.

On May 9, Harris and his wife talk about Harris's appoication for a job at Chick-fil-A and how Harris says he hasn't heard anything about the job and is worried about it. On May 12, Leanna texts before 8 a.m., "Call me ASAP." She evidently had driven off with the car seat they used to transport Cooper. In subsequent texts, Ross told Leanna he was in a bad mood. "I'm sorry, it's my fault," Leanna said, according to Stoddard. "No it's not. It's just how I'm feeling today. ... No go at Chick-fil-A," Harris replied.

Stoddard then recounts texts regarding a planned trip to Tybee Island over Memorial Day. They argue about whether Cooper should come along.

Boring asks what Harris told his wife about where he was going on May 31, a Saturday, the day he planned to meet a prostitute.

Leanna asks him what the code for the pool at their apartment complex is. He messages it back, and she responds, "Yay!"

At about 2 p.m., Harris texts that he has finished helping a friend move and she asks when he will be home, saying it's no fun spending the day by herself. They discuss what they will have for dinner.

At 5:30, Harris texts that he's leaving the store, having picked up the ingredients for supper.

Boring and Stoddard discuss a phone number Stoddard found on Harris's phone. Stoddard says the number belongs to a prostitute, and Boring points out that Harris placed three calls to the woman shortly after he and Leanna had texted back and forth about dinner and about her missing him. He said the calls came at 4:51, 5:10 and 5:14 p.m.

Boring tries to enter into evidence a conversation on Whisper between Harris and another party. Kilgore objects. Judge overrules.

Harris was messaging with a female on Whisper even as Harris was playing the guitar at his church. Harris said, "I'm really horny." To which the female, identified as Keke, responds, "In church!!" Then they have a conversation about whether Keke is underage and whether Harris could go to jail for meeting with her or exchanging photos with her.

He says, "I know it's not good, but I'm addicted to sex."

She says, "You plan on getting married."

He says, "I'm married."

She asks him whether he has children.

He replies, "One kid."

He then talks about his anatomy.

"Why don't you just divorce your wife?"

He responds, "Kid." And then says, "It's just sex."

There follows an exceptionally damaging series of exchanges between Harris and numerous women on Kik or Whisper. Boring introduces each and asks Stoddard how Harris responds. According to Stoddard:

Harris tells one he is addicted to sex. He tells another he "hates being married sometimes, too." He tells another he misses being single. He tells another that "my wife should divorce me." He tells another "sometimes I want to be unmarried." He tells another, on May 19, 2014, "Wish I was single." That was a month before Cooper's death. He tells another, on May 23, "I settled down. Kinda regret it." He tells another on May 28, "I'm a bit miserable, too . . . No sex (in my relationship). You?" He tells another, on March 14, "I'm tired of living with my wife sometimes, lol." He tells another in January 2014, "I miss being single. ... I just want to (expletive) a lot of girls, drink a lot and have fun." He tells another in February, "You don't need a baby. It's not easy, and expensive. . . . I love my son, but that joker drains my paycheck." He tells another, in February 2014, "I have sex with strangers to block out a lot of my pain. ... I like it with strangers." He tells another "I have a sex addiction I've acted on. I kind of regret that."

In every case, Kilgore objects to admitting that particular piece of evidence, and in every case, Staley Clark overrules him. At one point, the objection and overruling become so routine that Kilgore simply says, "Same." And Staley Clark says, "Same."

Harris, meanwhile, spends most of this time with his eyes downcast at the table in front of him, occasionally holding his face in his hand.

http://www.ajc.com/news/minute-minu...Q0lopONPoeTDK/?icmp=AJC_102416eveningdigest01

Damaging as in bad character evidence, damaging as in hurtful to his ex-wife, damaging if the jury understandably thinks RH is really on trial for his prodigious infidelities. But relevant to the charges against him? No, I don't think so.

 

[NCTeacher]

I read in the minutes today that RH watched the vet video, wrote in the comments something about how it would be bad if his son were in that car, and 5 days later his son gets left in a hot car.

Seriously? If so, count me as one no longer on the fence.

 

[Hope4More]

I didn't say that the testimony and evidence aren't important, it's just that you are nitpicking about inconsistencies that have very little importance.

I'm sure the State hopes the jury feels that way. Why should the jury bother with LE's false misrepresentations, niggling inconsistencies, lies, manipulation of reports, evidence, and witnesses, because it's obvious RH is a cheating husband who had sex with prostitutes, minors, and even a man, so he must have killed his son, and so what if he didn't really mean to- - details, details, fry him.

 

[arkansasmimi]

Originally Posted by arkansasmimi View Post
JMHO... Let me see, Trial is still going on, the State has not even rested, the Defense has yet to put on their case. OH and Cross on Stoddard has not even began. Yes, it is important now as much as it was when the State called their witnesses to get this on the record.

But I guess if you don't think any of the testimony and evidence is important, it may not be. It's not tv where you just turn off the program.

I didn't say that the testimony and evidence aren't important, it's just that you are nitpicking about inconsistencies that have very little importance.

Respectfully, Not important to you, would evidently would be the factual statement. Because it is to me, and darn sure is to the State has brought in the Witnesses, and spent a lot of time on these very things. If it were of little importance, I seriously doubt that they would have done that. And there are many inconsistencies. And there are also witnesses that have not told the truth. Inconsistencies bring about reasonable doubt. The State has to prove their case, beyond a reasonable doubt.

 

[JudyBolton]

Damaging as in bad character evidence, damaging as in hurtful to his ex-wife, damaging if the jury understandably thinks RH is really on trial for his prodigious infidelities. But relevant to the charges against him? No, I don't think so.

They argue about whether Cooper should come along. (on vacation)

"Why don't you just divorce your wife?" He responds, "Kid."

he "hates being married sometimes, too

he misses being single.

"Wish I was single."

Kinda regret it."(getting married)

I miss being single.

joker drains my paycheck.

I repeat - asked why not divorce - Answer - kid!

What if the jurors took those notes from the testimony? Still think it cannot apply to his charges? Or think no man would do such a thing? Two words - Scott Peterson.

 

[arkansasmimi]

I'm sure the State hopes the jury feels that way. Why should the jury bother with LE's false misrepresentations, niggling inconsistencies, lies, manipulation of reports, evidence, and witnesses, because it's obvious RH is a cheating husband who had sex with prostitutes, minors, and even a man, so he must have killed his son, and so what if he didn't really mean to- - details, details, fry him.

Agree! And lol they have gotten caught big time. Supervisors lying under oath, making false reports, LOL wait til they Cross Mr. Dustin, who Stoddard gave all the info for his 3D video and said that Mr. Dustin was not telling the truth about seeing photos. Anyone who says these things are not true, well they have not paid attention with an open mind.

 

[just the facts pls]

Totally agree. This was NOT just "a guy doing what guys do cause they aren't happy at home" as some posters are alluding to!

That being said - this "sexual addiction" information (he even called it that) alone does not show IMO that he did it on purpose. BUT added to the rest of the evidence shown - short time to the intersection where he needed to turn, how close in proximity Cooper was to him in the car (to name some of the most damning for me) and it is starting to really confirm my feelings on this.
If he had all the same stuff going on in the background (the sex addiction) but say he didn't normally take Cooper to daycare, the car seat were further away from RH own body, he had driven 30 minutes straight from home to work, etc... Then I don't think I'd be convinced he intended this. So my point is, I am not basing my feelings on this just on the "bad husband, bad father" stuff.

Still waiting to hear all the evidence of course


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

I agree, good post and thank you.

There's so much other evidence that supports pre-meditation that his sexting stuff is just icing on the cake (but not the cake Kilgore was talking about, apparently :facepalm: ) I am more concerned about the timing of the car ride, the conversation he was having, and his behavior throughout the day. His sexual behavior is supportive evidence, but again, the most damning pieces of evidence are when he's NOT texting about sex, but when he's talking about how other people shouldn't have kids, how Cooper is holding him back from divorcing his wife, and how miserable his marriage and child is making him.

 

[Hope4More]

I think you are one of the most brilliant thinker, analyzer, and possibly a genius. Serious. I'm not being frivolous when I say these things about you, Hope4More.

Yep, we disagree on this case.

I got locked out of my car with my young son (Cooper's age) and my purse and keys still in my car once. I found out what I had done as soon as I slammed the door shut. I was in Hawaii on a very hot day. This was 1994 and even then I knew about the dangers of hot car. No cell phone yet. Panic..

I immediately went to the back door where my little boy was smiling and looking at me with a 'why aren't you getting me out' look. I needed him to pull up the lock knob but I knew his little arm couldn't reach it. I pantomimed the unlocking motion of unbuckling his car seat belt. He did. I pointed to the lock knob and pantomimed the pull up motion. He followed my directives. I couldn't open that door fast enough. By this time a crowd had gathered to witness the happy ending.

So yes, I'm aware accidents do happen, including forgetting your child until the child bakes to death. But if that happens, the person responsible for the death can no longer say it was just an accident IMO and walk away. I'm glad RH was put on trial.

(English is not my primary language. Please excuse grammatical errors)

Thank you for the kind words. You know we've always had a mutual admiration society thing going on.

But in this case.... the question isn't if RH should have been able to walk away. The question is whether or not the process of bringing him to trial was tainted (an unreserved YES it was, imo), and whether or not he is receiving a fair trial (absolutely not, imo).

I'd be perfectly fine with RH being on trial and would accept whatever verdict an impartial jury renders if I thought the process before and during was clean. I'm not, and suspect I won't, because I don't believe the State's hands are clean at all.

 

[Deleted member 39678]

I'm sure the State hopes the jury feels that way. Why should the jury bother with LE's false misrepresentations, niggling inconsistencies, lies, manipulation of reports, evidence, and witnesses, because it's obvious RH is a cheating husband who had sex with prostitutes, minors, and even a man, so he must have killed his son, and so what if he didn't really mean to- - details, details, fry him.

If the State's case is as weak as it appears to be, their strategy is to inflame the jury hoping that they are so angry at RH that they will feel compelled to punish him with a guilty verdict on all counts. JMO

 

[magnolia]

I think you are one of the most brilliant thinker, analyzer, and possibly a genius. Serious. I'm not being frivolous when I say these things about you, Hope4More.

**Snipped for Brevity**

I couldn't agree with you more.

 

[turaj]

If the State's case is as weak as it appears to be, their strategy is to inflame the jury hoping that they are so angry at RH that they will feel compelled to punish him with a guilty verdict on all counts. JMO

that may be true and frankly it is very tempting to do just that...evidence or not. long time since I have seen such a disgusting defendant. just out of curiosity i looked up Cooper's obituary. So sad to read and know what kind of a father he had. What strikes me is all the relatives he has including his own parents living in Ala. Many others listed and yet I see no one in that courtroom that appears to be supporting him or for Cooper. I wonder what is going on with his family and that of Leanna. They are not that far from Ala. I was so disgusted today watching how upset he was about his secret life being exposed in the courtroom through texts...way more upset than we even saw him at the photos of the deceased Cooper.

 

[Bc007]

How do they help the defense? He clearly knew about HOT CAR deaths and knew how to prevent them. But he did nothing to do so. He only had to look two inches to the right, and he could see the baby out of the corner of his eye. And in spite of the fact that this was his biggest fear, he 'forgot' his son was there within 30 seconds of pulling out of the lot.

We don't know for sure that it was 30 seconds. I want to know if he stayed in the car and texted before pulling out. Not that a minute or two is much better. Just saying - I have a feeling it was longer. Back to your question - I said that those emails help the defense because I believe they speak to both Ross and Leanna's acknowledgement that Ross may be very forgetful, distracted, potentially irresponsible and possibly, known to rush. Maybe this is why she appears to mother him so much.

 

[Hope4More]

If the State's case is as weak as it appears to be, their strategy is to inflame the jury hoping that they are so angry at RH that they will feel compelled to punish him with a guilty verdict on all counts. JMO

That certainly appears to be their strategy, and one that dates back to the summer of 2014. I believe LE decided he was guilty on June 18, within minutes of arriving on the scene, and didn't have a problem lying to obtain search warrants because Ferrell and Stoddard believe the ends justify the means.

The piece I kept missing is what happened next, which was the community rallied around RH and condemned LE for their reckless rush to judgement. That pushback and criticism resulted in LE deciding on a scorched earth character assassination strategy, one still in play now at trial.